The Unlikely Love Story of a Snake and a Badger
by heytherepigeon
Summary: He's a Pureblood. A Slytherin. And she's a Muggle-born. A Hufflepuff! He's better than her. He's /supposed/ to be better than her. So why is she smarter than him? Why is she so nice when she doesn't have to be? And why - /why/ cant he stop thinking about her? Hogwarts fic with lots of OCs.
1. Chapter 1

**FIRST YEAR**

/

This was not how he had pictured it.

His very first departure to Hogwarts was an event Evander had been looking forward to his entire life. Whenever he envisioned it in his head, his mother and father were standing hand in hand, both of them tearing up. Maybe his mother would even cry openly into his father's shoulder. They would hug him goodbye and he would find Caelum and Felix and they'd find an empty compartment together. But before long, they'd be joined by a few pretty girls. He would have everyone in the compartment laughing the entire way to the castle.

But here he was – his mother glanced at her watch for the fortieth time since they'd arrived at the platform. She gave him a thin smile. "See you at winter holidays." She said.

He nodded awkwardly and lugged his things through the crowd of people, fighting for the urge to glance back. He tried not to feel too disappointed. What had he honestly expected?

"Evander!" He turned. Two boys, one with a mop of blonde hair and the other a boy with dark skin and short black hair, were both running towards him. He gave them a half-hearted smile.

"Have you guys found a compart - ?"

"Tell Felix that the Magpies are going to win the next game!" Caelum interrupted, shoving Felix in the shoulder as he spoke.

"Are you stupid? The Tornadoes have a way better chance!" Felix argued back, ignoring Evander.

"Just because they got a new Chaser…"

Evander bit back an icy comment. He tugged his trunk onto the train and went to find a compartment. He checked each one (with Caelum and Felix arguing at his heels) but every single one was full. With every step he took, his irritation grew. He wished Caelum and Felix would shut up. He wished he could find an empty compartment. He wished his parents actually cared.

And just when he thought hope was lost, he stumbled into a compartment that was completely empty – well, except for four girls.

"Boys," He said, grinning, "I think we found our compartment."

The three of them shuffled into the compartment as the girls, flashing grins, scooted over.

"I don't think there's enough room…" Caelum muttered.

"We'll squish." Evander hissed back. This was the only part of his daydream that looked promising – he wasn't about to let it slip as easy as a bar of soap in the shower.

When they were finally seated, however uncomfortably, he began to roll his best jokes around in his mind, deciding which one was best. _Two Beaters walk into the Three Broomsticks…_

The compartment door slid open suddenly, bringing him out of his reverie. A girl stood there. She looked their age, with long blonde hair. She blushed, the red creeping around a few freckles.

"We don't have any room!" One of the girls snapped.

The blonde girl slid the door shut, muttering something that sounded sort of like 'sorry.'

Evander turned back, opening his mouth to let his joke roll, but the door slammed open again. He turned to snap at the blonde girl, but found himself staring up at an older woman with graying hair, pulled into a tight bun that matched her tight smile. Evander recognized her instantly – Headmistress McGonagall.

"Six to a compartment," She said.

"Oh, come on!" Evander cried angrily. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright, I'm taking that outburst as you volunteering to move. You can come with me," She said sharply. Evander, having no other choice, followed to the very back of the train, where she introduced him to the very last compartment. "Here you are," She said. "You may sit in here."

Evander rolled his eyes on the way into the compartment, thinking that maybe he'd just sneak back to his friends once the train got moving. McGonagall never had to know.

But he found himself face to face with the blonde girl he'd almost snapped at. She gave him an appraising look before turning to look out the window.

"You can sit here if you want," She commented. He sat down across from her, cursing McGonagall in his mind. He could be living it up with Caelum, Felix, and four girls…And instead…

"I'm Lauren, by the way. Lauren Dalton."

"That's a funny name," Evander said, smirking. "I'm Evander Redford."

She laughed. "And I'm the one with the funny name?" She said skeptically, wrinkling her nose.

His eyebrows shot up and his faced flushed. "My name's not funny!" He cried defensively. "It's a wizard name! My family's a well-known Wizarding family,"

"Mine's not." She shrugged. "I'm the only witch."

"Oh." He smirked again. A Mudblood. "That's too bad. Having an all-wizard family puts you up pretty high up in power, you know,"

"That's nice," She said, but she wasn't even paying attention anymore. The train lurched forward and she leapt to the window, pressing her nose to the glass. "Look – my parents – oh, hold on – "

Evander stared past her. There were families – parents, siblings, grandparents – all waving goodbye to the students on the train. He spotted two obvious Muggles that Lauren was pointing to excitedly. You could tell they were Muggles just by looking at them – they looked terrified. Were he in a better mood, he would have snickered.

"There they are!" Lauren was saying as she pointed. "That's my mom and my dad!"

He looked around and, after an easy search, found the exact and heartbreakingly empty spot where his mother should have been.

/

"What House do you think you'll be in?"

Evander turned to look at her. She was watching him, her eyebrows raised, obviously waiting for an answer. Couldn't she see that he didn't want to talk? Couldn't she see that he was miserable?

He scoffed inwardly. _Humor yourself._

"Slytherin." He drawled, glaring at her. "My whole family's been in Slytherin for generations."

She nodded, her eyebrows furrowing together. "I read up on the Houses in _Hogwarts, A History - _I think Hufflepuff sounds nice."

He snorted. _She's a Mudblood, alright._ "Hufflepuff's the worst House!" He said in disgust.

"It's not," She challenged. "Don't you think that being friendly is better than being strong or smart or cunn - ?"

"No." He interrupted, seething.

Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't think you would."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" He demanded. She pretended not to hear him and stared pointedly out the window. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked again, with even more emphasis than before.

Sighing, she turned back to him. "You're one of _those_ people."

"Those people?" He repeated.

"Yes."

"And what," He said, clenching his teeth and forcing a smile (deliberately hoping she'd see right through it) "does that mean?"

Her eyes flickered towards him again, searching his face. As she did, his clenched smile faded and he stared back – for once in his life, not scowling or smirking. She, taking him by surprise, smiled. "You'll figure it out eventually."


	2. Chapter 2

As if his luck couldn't get any worse, he was stuck with this girl all the way to the Great Hall. They were put in the same boat to cross the lake, right next to each other. (He couldn't help but roll his eyes then – the way she peered into the lake and shuddered. She was so ignorant.) They were shooed in together and sat right next to each other in front of the Sorting Hat.

He ignored her, although he knew that she would be staring at the Hat eagerly. He tried to find Caelum and Felix – and hopefully the girls they sat with – but they were quieted before he could search too thoroughly.

He didn't pay too much attention until Lauren was called up. He was the only one who heard the nervous squeak that escaped her lips as McGonagall said her name – but she stood, her face burning, and made her way to the stool. He couldn't help but imagining her tripping.

Lauren shut her eyes tight as the Headmistress placed the beat-up old hat on her head. There was a silence and Lauren's eyes opened, fearful and wide. Finally, after the silence grew longer, the Hat's "mouth" opened – "HUFFLEPUFF!"

_Of course._ Evander thought, watching Lauren's face split into a grin as she dashed to the cheering Hufflepuff table.

The next familiar name to pop up was Felix's. He was a Slytherin (to no one's surprise). He flashed Evander a thumb's up before joining the Slytherin table.

Several names that Evander didn't care about passed before the next familiar name came – his own.

"Evander Redford?" McGonagall called, one thin eyebrow rising. Evander sighed – school hadn't even started yet and he was already on the Headmistress's bad side.

A surprising and unexpected worry welled in his stomach. What if he wasn't in Slytherin? What would his family do? What would his friends do? What if his Sorting was terrible – what if he ended up in Hufflepuff?

But the Hat didn't even touch his dark hair before it yelled out, "_SLYTHERIN!"_ And he felt stupid for worrying.

He took his spot next to Felix, who clapped him on the back. The next person they knew was Caelum and they were looking forward to him joining their table.

But as names he didn't care about passed, he found his eyes locked on Lauren Dalton at the Hufflepuff table. She was watching other people get Sorted, almost disinterestedly. What had she meant, anyway, about him being one of "those people?" And she hadn't even explained it. The very thought sent him fuming all over again.

No sooner had Caelum joined them did Evander catch Lauren looking back at him. What look was she giving him? It was hard to tell from across the room – but he was sure it was something like a sad smile.

His blood boiled. As if he cared that a stupid Hufflepuff didn't like him. As if he cared that a Mudblood's Muggle parents cared about her.

He looked away pointedly– and made eye contact with one of the pretty girls from the train.

He was immediately entranced. She had long, dark, wavy hair and long eyelashes. She blinked slowly, smiling at him from where she sat, still Unsorted.

"Carmen Vallista?"

The girl's head turned and she stood, gracefully taking her seat at the stool.

"_SLYTHERIN!"_

Evander watched, well aware that every other Slytherin boy – heck, every other boy in the room – was watching this beauty take her seat at the end of the table, looking pleased. There were a few W names after her, but nobody paid any attention. They were all itching to eat.

And Evander, after craning his neck and still failing to get another glimpse at Carmen, found himself staring in defeat across the room at Lauren again. She was laughing. At him? No…It was something the redheaded boy next to her was saying. Evander knew him – Michael Ellis. He was a year older than Evander, a Pureblood, but he was also a Blood Traitor. Mudblood-lovers, his father had once called their family.

The feast began shortly afterwards and Evander felt a strange sensation in his stomach as Felix and Caelum began their Quidditch debate again, bringing a few other boys into the conversation. Evander just felt detached. Exhausted. Miserable.

Homesick.

/

After the feast was over, Evander, Caelum and Felix were guided to their dorms by a prefect named Paul. As the three boys settled into the dorm for first years, along with two other boys, Evander tried to get all the information he could out of his two friends that had spent an entire two and a half hours with Carmen Vallista.

"The girls were all good-looking," Caelum said as he unpacked his Chocolate Frog cards. "I think they were cousins. But Carmen was easily the best-looking."

"No competition." Felix agreed. "She won by a landslide."

"So we got to talking and we find out they're _all_ Purebloods – "

"And now the best one's in the Slytherin," Felix grinned.

"What about the other ones?"

"Weren't you paying any attention during the Sorting?" Caelum said. "The one who was kind of cute – her name was Nola – she's a Ravenclaw. The other two middle ones are twin sisters, they're a year older than us – "

"Rachel and Leah," Felix spoke up.

"Yeah, them. Leah's in Slytherin and Rachel's a Ravenclaw."

Evander nodded and Felix gave him an odd look. "You did seem kind of distracted during the Sorting – what did you keep looking at?"

"Oh – it was that girl," Caelum laughed before Evander could say anything. "That blonde chick he was glued to."

Evander sighed. "It wasn't my fault! McGonagall put me in a train compartment with her and then she followed me around the whole time."

"What House - ?"

"Hufflepuff." Evander said before Felix could finish the question. Then, snickering, he added, "She told me she thought it sounded like the best House."

"Really?" Caelum and Felix doubled over.

"Well," Evander spoke with a grin, "She _is_ a Mudblood."

As he and his friends poked fun at Hufflepuffs for the rest of the evening, Evander felt relieved. His friends really knew how to take his mind off of things.


	3. Chapter 3

One week dissolved into the next and September dissolved into October, and Evander found himself in a relaxing rut. Go to classes, do your homework, hang out with Caelum and Felix. It provided him with a comfortable schedule and no surprises – he knew exactly what to expect.

And even more to his pleasure, he didn't have to see too much of Lauren, either. They did have a few classes together, but the Hufflepuffs tended to sit on one side of the classroom and the Slytherins on the other, giving him a perfect excuse to sit as far away as possible from her. As far as he cared, he wouldn't ever realize what she had meant about him being "one of those people." She seemed to make friends with Michael Ellis and a Ravenclaw girl named Shannon, so he didn't have to worry at all about her.

However, much to Evander's dismay, both of these things changed one Thursday afternoon. Professor Flitwick straightened on top of his stack of books as the bell rang and squeaked, "Evander Redford, would you please come talk with me before lunch?"

Caelum and Felix snickered, waving to Evander before darting out of the classroom. Evander groaned inwardly, packing up as slowly as possible. He already _knew_ he wasn't great at performing charms – why did Flitwick have to point it out to him?

"Yes, Professor?" Evander asked in a tone that made it evident to Flitwick that he'd rather be at lunch.

Flitwick ignored Evander's tone and gave him a look. "You're failing," He said bluntly.

Evander blinked. He hadn't known _that. _"I – I'm failing? Charms?"

"Yes, Charms," Flitwick said impatiently. "Which is why I'm going to set you up in a tutoring program."

"I – no – you can't…" Evander stuttered, desperately. No. No! He refused to take part in a _tutoring_ program. Some super smart kid smiling at him like he was a five-year-old – just because he wasn't the _best_ at performing charms…He gave Flitwick a pleading look, praying his _natural _charm would work on teachers, too.

But Flitwick remained unmoved. "My best student has already agreed to tutor you. You can meet them here in this classroom tonight right after dinner."

Evander rolled his eyes. "What am I supposed to tell my friends? That I'm stupid and need – "

"It has nothing to do with being stupid!" Flitwick interrupted, squeaking terribly. "Evander, there's nothing wrong with needing extra help – I hear you're one of the best potioneers in your year,"

Evander gave a one-shouldered shrug. What was the point of being good at Potions if he couldn't even be decent at Charms? Charms! Of all the subjects, Charms was supposed to be easy! A single thought brought his stomach plummeting – _his parents._

"Professor Flitwick," Evander said suddenly, even more desperate than before, "You didn't write my parents about this, did you?"

"No." Flitwick said curtly. "I figured I'd see how the tutoring works out first. If your grades continue to remain a problem after that, only then will I write your parents."

"Thank you, Professor!" Evander said. Flitwick was only lucky that Evander didn't hug him right then.

"And Mr. Redford…" Flitwick called after him, "If I hear about you skipping these tutoring sessions, I _will_ write your parents immediately."

/

"So what did Flitwick want with you?" Caelum asked, stabbing his lunch with his fork.

"Um…" Evander looked sideways at his two best friends. He knew it would be the best decision to not tell them about this whole tutoring situation – they'd only use it against him. Even if it was obvious he struggled with charms. No, he'd keep it a secret. "He just wanted to know something about the test last week. He couldn't read what I wrote."

"Right!" Felix sniggered. "I remember that. The bell was close to ringing and you were the only person not done – that's why you were writing so fast,"

Evander smiled, nodding. Good, they believed it.

"So – I was thinking," Caelum interrupted with a grin, "We should wait around in the common room tonight until Carmen comes in – then we strike up a conversation with her and her friends. You guys up for it?"

"Totally!" Felix said, fist-bumping Caelum. They both swiveled to look at Evander, who was silent.

"I can't." He said. "I – I'm helping Professor Slughorn with something." He lied.

"With what?"

"Grading essays," Evander said, making it up as he went along. "Since I'm the best in the class, he thought he'd give me some extra credit for helping – "

"Well, if you're the best in the class, why do you need extra credit?" Caelum argued.

Evander's face flushed. "I don't know, but I just can't come with you – don't bother asking me again, I've got to help Slughorn!" He snapped.

Caelum and Felix, rolling their eyes, fell into their own conversation. Evander bent over his plate of food, picking at it, suddenly not hungry anymore. He knew his friends were mad at him now, and he really would rather talk to Carmen Vallista than get tutored by Flitwick's best student…But he didn't want Flitwick to write his parents. Sighing heavily, he glanced up – and saw Lauren Dalton staring at him from her seat at the end of the Hufflepuff table, right next to Michael Ellis. He snorted and looked away. He didn't want to deal with her either right now.

/

As soon as dinner was over that evening, Caelum and Felix nodded curtly to Evander and shuffled back to the common room to drool over Carmen like dogs over steaks and Evander went the opposite way, towards Slughorn's classroom.

As soon as he was sure Caelum and Felix were out of sight, he changed directions and walked slowly to the Charm's classroom. For the first time since that afternoon, he wondered who his tutor would be. Evander shrugged to himself. He didn't care if this person knew he sucked at Charms – as long as Caelum, Felix, and Carmen didn't find out.

He pushed open the Charm's door, glancing down the hallway twice to make sure no one saw him, and ran straight into Lauren Dalton.

They both tumbled to the ground, Lauren letting out a surprised shriek. Evander scrambled off of her, letting out a "bleh" in disgust – _Mudblood!_

"What are you doing here?" Evander spat as she sat there on the ground, staring up at him stupidly.

"I'm – "

"Well, you'd better leave soon," He interrupted. "I need to use this classroom for – " He stopped. If he wasn't telling his best friends, he surely wasn't going to tell _her. _

"You don't understand, I'm here for – "

"What are you waiting for?" He demanded. "Get out, mudblood!"

Several things happened at once. As he continued yelling, she stood and raised her hand. Evander didn't have time to react – her hand came down and with a crack, she slapped him across the face. Hard. Evander staggered backwards, grasping the edge of the nearest desk to stop from falling over. He gaped at her in surprise – wasn't she a _Hufflepuff?_

"What – what was that for?" He demanded, one hand going gingerly to his cheek.

"That was for calling me a _you-know-what,"_ She said, not angry at all. "If you want me to tutor you, then you'd better start acting nicer. Otherwise, I'll tell Flitwick I've changed my mind and you'll just have to fail," She sniffed.

"You – _you're_ the one tutoring me?" He sputtered.

She nodded. "Charms come easily to me. It's probably my best subject, now that I think about it," She toyed with her wand.

"But – but you're a – " He stopped himself at the look on her face. But still, he wondered – she was a _mudblood._ How the heck could she be better than him at Charms?

"I've seen you in class. Like today, we were learning the Hovering Charm," She continued. "Your main problem is your wand motion – you're supposed to _swish _and_ flick."_ She demonstrated as she spoke. "But you wouldn't know, would you? You're too busy talking to those other two Slytherin boys – "

"Caelum Smith and Felix Hopkins," He interrupted, seething again. "They're my best friends."

"Yes," She said, raising an eyebrow. "Well. Why don't you practice the motion?"

Wishing he knew a charm that could hex her, he did as she said. She seemed completely unaware of the death glare he was giving her, even as he did the motions again and again.

"Not so _sharp," _She told him, sighing. "Make it –kind of – like a _light_ motion. You're levitating something, after all."

_So now she thinks she's funny. _He snorted to himself, rolling his eyes at the same time. He did the motion again, only lighter, like she said.

"Good," She said. "That's good. Perfect, actually. Now try it while saying the incantation – okay?"

Sighing, he did as she told him "_Wingardium Leviosa,"_

The feather on the table leapt into the air and then fluttered back down. His eyebrows shot up – he'd never gotten a charm on his first try.

"Good!" She was smiling. "Now watch me…" As soon as the feather was settled back on the desk, she straightened it and whipped out her wand – a perfect _swish_ and a perfect _flick, _and the incantation said without error – "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The feather jumped several feet into the air and she guided it, using her wand, to the next desk closer to Evander, smiling the whole time. With a flick of her wand, the feather dropped again. "See?"

"Well – what am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing." She told him. "It just takes practice,"

"I don't have _time _to practice," He said through clenched teeth.

She didn't reply, merely raised an eyebrow. "Try it again."

He did. Over and over and over again, he did the exact same charm to the exact same feather in front of the exact same girl. Her reactions were the same – if he did it right, she'd smile and say, "Good. Do that again." And if he didn't, she'd frown, "Alright – try it again, but do it like I do."

What was the point of her showing him how she did it, anyway? So she could show off? Did she really think that her natural talent for Charms would change his opinion about her? It wasn't until around nine o'clock that she finally sighed another failed attempt and said, "I think that's enough for today."

He tucked his wand back into his robes, ready to run to his dorm and never look back, but she stopped him. "Hey, Evander!" She called, just as he was grasping the door knob.

"What?" He said angrily without turning around.

"We need to schedule our next meeting," She folded her arms and stared after him. "I was thinking we do this every Tuesday and Thursday, right after dinner – maybe Saturdays, too, if you need it."

"Fine." He said shortly. He'd have to think of more lies to tell Caelum and Felix. Great.

"And remember – if you skip, I'll tell Professor Flitwick."

"I'll remember." He said. Merlin, he just wanted to get out of here, couldn't this girl see that?

"And one more thing…" She said. He looked over his shoulder – she was grinning. She stepped past him and pushed the door open, holding it for him. "Good job today,"


	4. Chapter 4

Two Months Later

/

Lauren sighed. "Try it again," She said, resting her chin on her fist. Evander glanced at her before he did – "_Lumos!"_

The tip of his wand flickered for a moment, but went out.

She rose out of her seat, grabbing her wand with a limp arm. It was almost ten o'clock and they were both exhausted, but he could tell she had vowed to herself that she wouldn't leave until he got this Charm. They'd been working on it for the past two weeks and he was still struggling.

"Your motion is better," She informed him. "But still, not exact. You're focusing too much on the height – you want the loop in the movement to be wide…" She demonstrated, and sure enough, her wand flickered on brightly.

He sighed. "Can't we go to bed?" He whined, but she shook her head.

"Not until you get it. At least once."

He groaned.

"The sooner you start working, the sooner you'll get it, and the sooner we can go to bed," She snapped. Even she was losing her patience – and that never happened.

Rolling his eyes at her, he tried again – "_Lumos."_ But he got the same result as before – a flicker, but only that.

She stepped forward, closer to him. "Here," She said, grasping his hand. "You say the incantation at the top of the loop – okay?"

She guided his hand through the loop, rather slowly. The motion was as perfect as Professor Flitwick's examples, if not better. _"Lumos!"_ He said, right when she nudged him, and his wand lit up, just as brightly as hers had.

Her touch lingered even after she darted away. "See?" She said, grinning. And their routine began. He started to the door as she cleaned up.

"By the way, good job today," She said. She always said that, even if it was false. Even if he hadn't accomplished the charm correctly once. Even if he hadn't even cooperated. Those were her last words every time – "good job today."

/

A week later

/

"Today, class, we'll be reviewing the _Lumos_ charm." Professor Flitwick squeaked. Evander could feel Lauren's eyes boring into the side of his head, but he ignored her. Caelum and Felix were on either side of him. "Work with your tables and I'll come watch to make sure everybody's got it."

Evander scooted his chair around so he could face Felix and Caelum. Flitwick was starting at the front of the room – since they sat in the back, they didn't have to start just yet. Once Flitwick got closer, they'd pretend to work – he wouldn't know that they hadn't been working the whole time.

"So tonight, we're going to the library." Caelum said. "You've got the perfect view of the Quidditch pitch from there – we're going to spy on the Ravenclaw team practicing. The Quidditch captain promised us five Galleons _each."_ He smiled, waggling his eyebrows.

"Sounds good to me," Felix agreed excitedly. "But let me guess – Evander _can't._"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Evander said, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"You've always got excuses to not hang out with us." Caelum said, poking him in the chest with his wand. The tip was surprisingly hot. "We're starting to think you're sneaking around with some secret girlfriend."

"What?" Evander's face flushed and he saw Lauren watching them out of the corner of his eye. "No! You guys know I'd rather hang out with you than do anything else, it's not my fault I'm busy – "

"Right," Caelum rolled his eyes. "You're always either helping a teacher or a student – "

"Or studying," Felix added.

"Writing a letter?"

"Doing extra credit work."

"Taking a walk around the grounds…"

"Checking on your owl."

"Or going – "

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Evander interrupted. "I haven't been hanging out with you guys too much lately. But I promise it's nothing important. Just drop it, okay?"

At that, he couldn't help it – he glanced at Lauren. She raised her eyebrow at him before quickly looking away.

"Flitwick's coming!" Felix hissed suddenly. Evander whipped out his wand and hurriedly cast the spell. _"Lumos!"_

And he did it correctly – _better_ than correctly, in fact – the tip of his wand lit up brightly, surprising every table near him. Caelum and Felix even shielded their eyes.

"Ooh!" Flitwick tittered. "I see you've improved greatly, Mr. Redford!" He smiled broadly at him and his eyes flickered to Lauren as well. "I'm glad our agreement is working out!" And with that, he moved on to the next table.

"Your _agreement?"_ Caelum repeated incredulously. "What's he talking about?"

"Hmm?" Evander said, playing dumb.

"He said your agreement is working out." Caelum said. He looked angry.

"Did he?" Evander said, snorting. "Cut him some slack, Caelum – he's old and crazy. _He_ probably doesn't even know what he's talking about." Evander found his eyes travelling back to Lauren, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. She, actually, was looking down and shaking her head.

/

Later that day

/

"Evander!"

Evander flinched. Lauren didn't think she could actually _approach _him in the hallway, did he? Caelum and Felix both stopped in surprise, too, and glanced around. Evander wondered if he should pretend he didn't hear it. But it was too late – Lauren was standing behind him and Felix and Caelum were staring at her incredulously.

"Can I talk to you?" She said breathlessly. She had run to meet him.

Evander scoffed. "You wish," He said harshly, praying that Caelum and Felix wouldn't think they were up to something. He wondered if he should throw in a 'mudblood' comment for good measure, but he didn't want her to slap him again.

Her eyes narrowed. "In private?" She clipped out.

Shooting Caelum and Felix an equally confused look (that he hoped was convincing), he let Lauren guide him to the edge of the hallway, where they were out of ear shot of any other students.

"I'm just letting you know I've cancelled our meeting for tonight."

"What for?" He asked. "I need to get the Flame Charm down and you know it."

"It's called the _Fire-Making Charm, _and I know you do. But if you're too embarrassed to tell your friends that you're being tutored, then I don't know if I want to tutor you. I need time to think about it."

"Are you joking?" He demanded. "It's not like it's important – come on, if you had to be tutored in a subject because you weren't good at it, would you really advertise that?" He hiked his bag higher on his shoulder and looked at her expectantly.

"Yes. Because I actually take _responsibility_ for myself." Her nostrils flared.

"Well, think of it from my perspective!" He sneered. If she was going to get angry, so was he! "I'm a Pureblood – I'm supposed to be _better_ than you – and I'm being tutored by a mudblood!"

"Don't call me that!" She shouted. A few people glanced over, but luckily, they kept walking.

He shushed her. "How did you figure out what that means, anyway?" He asked her.

"Michael told me. He told me everything." She glared. She looked angry enough to slap him – again. "He told me about people like _you – _you think you're better than me just because of your ancestors!"

"Fine," He snapped. "I won't come to the meeting tonight, then!"

"Of course you won't, I cancelled it!"

Oh. Right. "Then I won't come on Thursday!"

"Oh, yes, you will!" She said, taking a step towards him. "If you don't, I'll tell Professor Flitwick and he'll write your parents!"

He faltered. She knew? How could she know? Did Flitwick tell her? A wave of anger rushed through him and he wanted to slap her right back – but he didn't. There were too many people around. "Fine," He muttered. "I'll be there. Just don't expect me to be excited about it. _Some_ people aren't as accepting."


	5. Chapter 5

Thursday

/

"You're getting it," She said. "But you're still doing the upside down V motion. It's supposed to be kind of flared on the sides – if that makes sense."

"So my problem's always the movement, isn't it?" He snapped.

"Yes."

He rolled his eyes. "That was a rhetorical question!"

"Well, it's true!" She said shrilly.

"You know, you're awfully stubborn for a Hufflepuff!"

She slammed her wand back down onto the table, making him jump. Her eyes were flaming. "For a _Hufflepuff?" _She repeated. "You think I'm weak just because I'm a Hufflepuff? Hufflepuff House's traits are loyal, dedicated, hard-working, fairness, and patience! Do any of those sound _weak_ to you?!" She demanded.

"Well, you're not being very patient now…" He muttered.

"Yeah, well, you get under my skin easily." She said.

"Why don't you just - ?"

"Can we stop arguing?" She interrupted. "We've got to get this done! I want to be out of here just as much as you do."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright. Fine. Show me how it's done."

Surprising him by smiling, she picked her wand up again. "Alright – watch the motion, okay? _Incendio!"_

The flames that burst out of her wand were bigger than any other flames they'd practiced in class – she seemed surprised herself. So surprised, in fact, that she stood rooted in her spot, even when the flames charged in her direction.

"Watch out!" Evander cried, leaping at her. He tackled her to the ground just in time for the flames to soar above them, leaving a black mark on the stone wall. He waited until the flames were gone to crawl off of her. Her expression hadn't changed. She was still wide-eyed, gaping at the air above them where the flames had just been. Where she had just been standing.

"I – thank you," She said, sitting up.

"Yeah, no problem," Evander said, gasping.

"I think that's enough for today." She said. "I'll see you on Tuesday." And she scrambled out of the classroom.

Still panting, Evander stood and leaned on the desk for support. He didn't know why he had done that – first of all, he hated her, so he didn't know why he saved her life. She was annoying, a Hufflepuff, and a Mudblood – all rolled into one. Second, he was terrified, probably more so than she was – so why had he been the one to save her? Why wasn't it the other way around?

Shrugging it off, he walked back to the common room, not noticing that the back of his shirt was singed from the flames.

/

One month later

/

Evander performed the Softening Charm correctly – again. He smiled proudly to himself and swiveled his gaze towards Lauren – she was clapping.

"Good job!" She said happily. "I really think you're getting better at this. You know, we might not even need to continue our tutoring."

Evander froze, not sure how to react. His first instinct told him to cheer and leave right then and there. His second instinct told him to be slightly disappointed. Lauren really had helped him get better at Charms and now he was one of the best in the class. He was afraid that if they stopped the meetings, his performance and his grade would both drop.

"Oh." Is what he ended up saying, with absolutely no emotion.

"Mhm," She nodded. "I think we'll have one on Tuesday, just to wrap things up – but other than that, I really don't think you need my help anymore. You _have _started paying more attention to the movements that Professor Flitwick teaches."

"Yeah."

She seemed to notice his sudden lack of enthusiasm, because she changed the conversation. "So – are you looking forward to the summer?"

He shrugged. He honestly _didn't_ know. While it might be nice to get away from school and work, he hated spending summers at home, all alone, while his parents were at various meetings. That's how he met Caelum and Felix – his parents invited other, well-known, Pureblood wizards his age over for play dates. They became best friends through that.

"_I _am." She said. "My parents promised they'd take me to America this summer."

"Did they promise that last year?" He asked.

She gave him a strange look. "No. They wrote it to me last week. I think I might actually have the letter in here somewhere – "

Her parents wrote her?

It dawned on him, suddenly. His parents hadn't written him. Not once during his entire first year at Hogwarts had he received a letter from his parents.

"We've been discussing it for a while through letters, of course," She went on. "But we considered going other places – we almost decided on France, but my parents thought it would be nice to visit my cousins in America." She stopped digging around in her bag to notice his expression. "Hey – what's wrong?"

He felt sick. She was a mudblood – her parents were Muggles – and she made it sound like she wrote them every week! He wanted to run. He wanted to get as far away from her as possible and never look at her again. "I – I have to go. I won't come to the meeting on Tuesday. Like you said, I don't need it. Have a nice summer." He said curtly, and with that, he was gone.


End file.
